Loading a Glock magazine with ammunition

This blog entry discusses how to load a magazine with ammunition for a Glock firearm. This information can also apply to most handguns for sale on the market today (IE: Springfield Armory, Smith and Wesson, H&K, etc). Click on any of the photos to enlarge them.

Before we begin I want to review some terminology.


The magazine the the part of the firearm you load ammunition into. Every magazine has rims (also called lips) on the top. The Follower is below the rims, and lowers as you load ammunition into the magazine and rises to feed more ammunition into the firearm as each expended round of ammunition exits the firearm. Inside the magazine, below the follower, is a spring.

On to loading. Place the edge of the ammunition on the front of the follower and push down. Slide the ammunition rearward so that the ammunition goes below the rims/lips of the magazine.


The first round of ammunition should be seated in the magazine and be held in place by the follower pressing upward and the rims / lips framing the ammunition.


Use the second round of ammunition to press down on the first round of ammunition near the front of the follower. This will lower the first round of ammunition deeper into the magazine.


As you press down and the first round has moved down further into the magazine, slide the second round of ammunition along the top of the first round of ammunition and back into the rear of the magazine. Use the same procedure of pressing down and sliding rearward to have all the consecutive rounds of ammunition loaded into the magazine.


Some firearm companies provide a magazine loader assistant to help you load ammunition into the firearm.


If your firearm comes with a magazine loader assistant, you can use it by placing it over your magazine and pressing down on the ammunition already loaded into the firearm as in the photo below.


Using this magazine assistant loader to press down for you will save your fingers from getting pinched or ammunition sliding off as the magazine fills to capacity.


Just use the magazine assistant to press down on the ammunition in the magazine for you and slide a new round of ammunition along the top and rearward as before.

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Securing a Glock for long term storage

This blog entry discusses how to secure a Glock firearm for long term storage. This information can also apply to most handguns for sale on the market today (IE: Springfield Armory, Smith and Wesson, H&K, etc). Click on any of the photos below to enlarge them.

The first step in securing your firearm for long term storage is to make absolutely certain it is unloaded and left with the slide open as discussed here.



Virtually all modern firearms ship with an orange gun lock enclosed. If you do not have one, they are readily available at gun stores and retail outlets online. Open the gun lock and move one side of the cable away from the base.


Now, move the exposed part of the gun lock cable over the top of the firearm and down through the open slide.


Guide the cable through the firearm and through the middle of the magazine well to exit the bottom of the firearm. NOTE: The cable should be obstructing the area where the magazine would normally be inserted.


Place the cable back into the base and close the lock. Remove the key and keep the key in a safe place! The firearm is now ready for long term storage.


Note how the slide can not be closed or moved forward and the magazine can not be inserted into the firearm. The firearm can not be discharged while in this state. Ideally, firearms intended for long term storage should also be kept in a gun safe or other highly secure medium.

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Unloading a Glock

This blog entry covers how to unload a Glock firearm. This information can also apply to most handguns for sale on the market today (IE: Springfield Armory, Smith and Wesson, H&K, etc). Click on any of the photos to enlarge them.


The first step is to go back and re-read the four rules.

#1 ALL FIREARMS ARE ALWAYS LOADED

# 2 NEVER POINT THE MUZZLE AT ANYTHING YOU ARE NOT PREPARED TO DESTROY

# 3 KEEP YOUR FINGER OFF THE TRIGGER UNTIL YOUR SIGHTS ARE ON THE TARGET

# 4 - BE SURE OF YOUR TARGET

While all four rules are equally important, let me emphasize that while unloading a firearm, be certain to keep the firearm pointed away from any target AND your finger off the trigger at all times.



You may unload the Glock firearm in any direction that complies with the four rules, although this entry will show different angles of the firearm for instruction. Again, while unloading a firearm, be certain to keep the firearm pointed away from any target AND your finger off the trigger at all times.

The first step is to press the magazine release button on the left side of the firearm as in the photo below.


This should be a straight press inward toward the firearm and not slide up or down. In the photo I am using my left thumb to press the magazine release button.

After pressing the magazine release button, the magazine will be detached from the firearm. If the magazine does not move downward by itself, you may need to grip the bottom of the magazine and pull the magazine out manually as illustrated in the photo below.


NOTE: You can easily see on the top of the magazine if there was ammunition ready to feed into the firearm. In the example photo above, you can see the magazine had been loaded with ammunition.

It is very important to realize that even after the magazine has been removed from the firearm, the firearm MAY STILL BE ABLE TO FIRE. A round of ammunition may have previously been loaded from the magazine into the chamber. To clear the chamber, first grip the back of the slide as in the photo below.


NOTE: If you look at the photo closely, you can see the light reflect off a round of ammunition that has been loaded into the firearm.

Now pull back the slide directly back away from the muzzle of the firearm in one strong motion.


If you are new to firearms, don't be afraid to exert some force to get the slide to move on the Glock. At this point, if there was a round of ammunition in the chamber, it will come out of the side of the firearm and fall out to the right when the slide is pulled back.


At this point, the firearm has been completely unloaded. You can release your grip on the slide and have the firearm return the slide forward. However, for demonstration and safety purposes, we can lock the slide in a "open" position to more effectively show there is no ammunition in the firearm. To do this, pull the slide back as far as it can go and press the SLIDE STOP LEVER upward on the left hand side of the firearm.


There should be a visible "notch" on the slide that the SLIDE STOP LEVER will move upward and fit into. Release the slide once the SLIDE STOP LEVER has been pressed upward into the notch.

With the slide "open", we can look down into the firearm and see there is no clip or ammunition feed inserted as illustrated in the following photo.


With the slide "open", we can also look into the chamber (the open circle in the following photo) and see there is no ammunition present.


In this mode, it is easy to verify whether rule Number One applies or not. The firearm is visibly unloaded and can be easily inspected to determine if ammunition is present.


I do NOT recommend leaving a firearm stored in this configuration, though. In upcoming blog entries, I will show how to secure a firearm from this point for long term storage as well as how to re-load a firearm from this point.

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Basic parts of a firearm

Below is a brief photo collection detailing the most basic parts of a firearm and a brief definition of what each part is and the basic function it serves. Click any of the photos to enlarge them.

There are a few common parts of a firearm you will find on virtually all modern handgun models and variations. This firearm is a Glock 19. This model uses 9mm ammunition.


It is a very popular handgun and has found favor worldwide in law enforcement and personal defense. Most of the basic firearm components you need to be familiar with are found on the left hand side of the firearm (when the barrel is pointing to the left as in the photos)

The next photo lists the basic component names and their locations on the firearm.


Starting from the top left going clockwise: The Accessory Rail is used for mounting lights, lasers or other paraphernalia to the firearm. The Front Sight is used in conjunction with the rear sight to align the firearm on target. The Slide houses the internal barrel along with parts of the firing mechanisms and is also used to manually chamber a cartridge (initially load the firearm) or to manually clear a malfunction.

The Rear Sight is used in conjunction with the front sight to align the firearm on target. The Slide Stop Lever is used to lock the slide in an open position or to release the slide from a locked open position. The Frame is the firearm's framework.

The Magazine holds the ammunition for the firearm and can be removed for reloading. The Magazine Release allows the Magazine to be removed or pulled out of the firearm. The Trigger discharges the weapon. Finally, the Disassembly Lever allows for the firearm to be taken apart for cleaning or maintenance.

This next photo has the different areas of the firearm shaded for a better view.



The Frame shading area should also include the narrow strip below the slide, but shading all of the frame made the image more difficult to view.

Although there are many different makes, models and designs of handguns, virtually all modern handguns have these same parts, and all act in a similar fashion. (NOTE: Revolvers are another story and will be detailed later)

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